A wide variety of animal collars are known. Such collars are configured to restrain, entrain, guide, and teach animals. Thus, their particular constructional features generally vary widely depending upon the primary aim to be accomplished by their use on animals.
Small animal collars are also known. Generally, they are simple circular structures provided with means for attaching a leash thereto and have a circular opening so that they may be disposed around the neck of the animal with a degree of facility and ease as well as to be easily removable.
A particular problem arises in providing a leash for very small animals such as ferrets, gerbils, and the like. Thus, frequently an individual walks so fast that he or she precedes the animal and thus unadvertently pulls on the leash or lifts the leash. Because these animals are so small and so light in weight, they provide little actual resistance to the force applied by the person leading the animal. As a consequence, the neck of the animal is pulled, twisted, or snapped, which frequently results in fatality. Therefore, it has been necessary to provide a collar for such animals which would permit the animal to escape from the collar when caught in such harmful positions.
Consequently, the strap, belt, or band-like collars cannot be used since once such are buckled or hooked into place they present a fixed loop from which the animal cannot escape.
Generally, collars for ferrets, gerbils, hamsters, and the like are made from a relatively pliable, inexpensive soft leather having a central opening through which the animals head can pass in either direction. The collar is formed in a flat plane, and the central opening may be cut in one or more places to allow a large head to freely pass through it.
Such known collars, while generally accomplishing their end purpose in a satisfactory manner, still exhibit a number of disadvantages. For example, they do not normally exhibit sufficient flexibility and, when further modified to make them more flexible, they do not hole about an animal's neck with a sufficient degree of security and are also so weakened as to be easily torn. In addition, since they are made of inexpensive leather, they are prone to absorb moisture and become odoriferous as well as being easily torn.
There exists, therefore, the need for an animal collar and, particularly, a small animal collar which does not exhibit such drawbacks. The present invention fulfill such a need.
These advantages and objects as well as others will be seen in the subsequent disclosure.